Clockwerk was getting a bit impatient. It was only a hour until sunrise, and a few hours later the race that Cooper's hippo friend Murray was participating in would begin. "Where the devil is that Neyla? I thought she said she was going to meet me here!" "Don't get your feathers all ruffled... I'm here! Oh, and you're going to LOVE what I've got as a "present" for that stupid hippo... it's the last "present" he'll ever get." Clockwerk turned to see Neyla holding what appeared to be an explosive device... but it looked too small. "If you're wondering, this is enough... I "acquisitioned" some C4 from a military base for this little beauty." "Military explosives... that hippo is as good as dead! Not to mention the panic it'll end up causing when traces of such an explosive turn up when they analyze what remains of the van!"
Why would it cause a panic? Besides being a military explosive, C4 has certain chemical markers added to it which mark the C4 as being obtained from a certain source. The detonation of the C4 doesn't destroy these chemicals completely, and traces always turn up when an analysis is done. It was inevitable that the C4 would be traced this way, and the end result would be a gigantic mess for anyone linked even slightly to the victim.
Clockwerk suddenly stopped laughing (which he had been doing for about 30 seconds) and said to Neyla: "Unfortunately, this isn't going to cause any trouble for Cooper. Like you said, he's "lost his memory" and nobody at Interpol will want to risk jogging it, will they?" "Unfortunately not... but it will probably make him and Carmelita uneasy... too bad they won't have any idea of who was responsible until it's too late for them. Too bad for THEM, that is!" "Just in case the explosive isn't enough, I think it should be attached to the nitro system of the van." "Not enough time, and the hippo will probably check under the hood... that's where that guy I got the info from tried to sabotage the van. Attaching it to the bottom of the van should suffice. After all, both the gas and the nitro will probably travel through the lines down there.
Clockwerk was a bit surprised with himself... he should have realized that easily. "I hate to admit it, but my hatred for Cooper and his friends must be interfering with my thought processes... I should have realized that myself." "No big deal chum... not compared to how big a deal it'll be to bury that hippo Murray after the explosion... they'll have to put his body back together piece by piece!" "Yes... but then there probably won't be a body to put back together!" Both Neyla and Clockwerk laughed evilly, and a dozen sparrows outside of the garage the two were in (they had been searching for bugs to eat) dropped dead of fright.
Several hours later, Murray entered the garage. "Hello my darling! Ready for today's race? Yeah, I know you want to get out there and beat those other racers just as much as I do! A quick check under the hood, and then we'll be good to go." Everything checked out fine under the hood, so Murray closed the hood, got inside the van and started it up. "Alright baby, let's get ready to burn up the track!" The van started up and quickly sped out of the garage, leaving it empty... save for Neyla and Clockwerk who were hiding in the shadows. Spirits are quite versatile when it comes to hiding, and the two were no exception to the rule.
Clockwerk was the first to speak. "Did you hear that? That fool was treating his van as if it actually had feelings... no, like he loved it!" "I'm a bit surprised at that as well... but it'll make this even more rewarding... and ironic. I especially liked his comment about the van "burning up the track." It'll be doing that all right... just not the way he expects!" The two passed through the walls of the garage and headed to an abandoned building just a block from the racetrack to watch the race... or at least the part of it that would take place before the C4 attached to the bottom of Murray's van detonated.
The race was supposed to be three hours long from start to finish, but Neyla and Clockwerk wouldn't have to wait that long. About an hour into the race, the timer on the C4 explosive counted down to the fatal "zero" and detonated. The explosion not only obliterated the van, but sent several adjacent vans flying as well as leaving a large crater in the racetrack. Needless to say, Murray never had any chance to bounce clear of the van before it was destroyed. Everybody stared on in horror... except for two spirits in an abandoned building, who were now singing a happy song. "Ding dong the hippo's dead, gone in a flash of orange and red..."